Sticky Fingers Sticky Buns Recipes

STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water. Add butter, sugar, milk powder and salt, then beat in 2 cups flour on low for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, make sauce by combining brown sugar, butter and corn syrup; cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Stir in pecans. Pour into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish., Punch down dough. Turn onto a floured surface; roll into a 16x10-in. rectangle. Make filling by combining butter, sugar and cinnamon; spread to within 3/4 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 slices; place slices cut side down over sauce. Cover with a kitchen towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes., Preheat oven to 375°. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool 3 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter.

STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• Combine the yeast mixture with the buttermilk, eggs, 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 cup softened butter, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Dough should remain soft and slightly sticky. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Divide dough in half and roll each half into a 12x7 inch rectangle. Spread each half with 1 tablespoon softened butter and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Roll up halves, beginning at wide side. Seal well by pinching the seams. Cut each roll into 12 slices.
• Coat two 9 inch round cake pans each with 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons raisins and 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Place 12 dough slices in each pan, leaving a small space between slices. Cover and let rise until doubled.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bake in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes. Invert pans onto plates and serve.

SWIRLY STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a pot set over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add 3/4 cup of the brown sugar, the vanilla and 1/4 cup water, and cook until the sugar dissolves. Spread 3 tablespoons of the sugar mixture on the bottom of a 9-inch round baking dish, and sprinkle the 1/2 cup whole pecans over the sugar mixture.
• Dust a clean surface with flour, and roll out the dough to a 10-by-14-inch rectangle. Cover the dough with the remaining 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, the 1/2 cup chopped pecans and the remaining sugar mixture. Starting at one of the long ends, gently roll the dough into a log. Gently pinch the seam with your fingers to seal, and then cut the log into 12 equal pieces. Place the dough in the baking dish and bake until golden brown, 30 minutes.
• Rest the sticky buns for 5 minutes. Place a flat serving platter over the baking dish and flip to remove the buns. Serve warm.

STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• For the dough: Heat the milk, oil and granulated sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat to just below a boil. Set aside and let cool to warm.
• Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit on the milk mixture for 1 minute. Add 4 cups of the flour. Stir until just combined, then cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a relatively warm place for 1 hour.
• After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the salt, baking powder, baking soda and remaining 1/2 cup flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Use the dough right away or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days, punching down the dough if it rises to the top of the bowl. (The dough is easier to work with if it's been chilled for at least an hour or so beforehand.)
• To assemble the rolls: On a floured baking surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 inches by 10 inches. The dough should be very thin.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• For the filling: Pour the melted butter over the surface of the dough. Use your fingers to spread the butter evenly. Sprinkle over the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Don't be afraid to drizzle on more butter or more sugar! Gooey is the goal.
• Now, beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly towards you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. Don't worry if the filling oozes as you work; that just means the rolls are going to be divine. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the seam is face down. You'll wind up with one long buttery, cinnamony, sugary, gooey log. Slip a cutting board underneath the log and, with a sharp knife, make 16 equal slices.
• For the smear and base: Cream together the brown sugar, butter, honey and salt until lightened, then slowly add the whiskey and vanilla while mixing.
• Butter a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, layer the bottom with the pecan pieces and then scoop 5 large scoops of the smear on top. Heat in the oven until the smear is slightly foamy and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove the skillet from the oven and place the sliced rolls on top of the melted smear (it's fine to put them on the hot smear). Allow the rolls to rise for 20 minutes.
• Return the skillet to the oven and bake until the rolls are golden brown and the smear is brown and sticky, 20 to 30 minutes. Take another 12-inch skillet and place it on top of the hot skillet. Flip over quickly and carefully. All of the caramelly, boozy goodness will be on top.

CINNAMON BUNS AND STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• Cream together the sugar, salt, and shortening on medium-high speed in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a large metal spoon and mixing bowl and do it by hand); if you are using powdered milk, cream the milk with the sugar, but add the water with the flour and yeast. Whip in the egg and lemon extract until smooth. Then add the flour, yeast, and milk. Mix on low speed (or stir by hand) until the dough forms a ball. Switch to the dough hook and increase the speed to medium, mixing for approximately 10 minutes (or knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes), or until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. You may have to add a little flour or water while mixing to achieve this texture. The dough should pass the windowpane test (page 58) and register 77° to 81°F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
• Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
• Mist the counter with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Proceed as shown below in the Shaping Cinnamon Buns and Sticky Buns sidebar.
• For cinnamon buns, line 1 or more sheet pans with baking parchment. Place the buns approximately 1/2 inch apart so that they aren't touching but are close to one another. For sticky buns, coat the bottom of 1 or more baking dishes or baking pans with sides at least 1 1/2 inches high with a 1/4-inch layer of the caramel glaze. Sprinkle on the nuts and raisins. You do not need a lot of nuts and raisins, only a sprinkling. Lay the pieces of dough on top of the caramel glaze, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag.
• Proof at room temperature for 75 to 90 minutes, or until the pieces have grown into one another and have nearly doubled in size. You may also retard the shaped buns in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, pulling the pans out of the refrigerator 3 to 4 hours before baking to allow the dough to proof.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F with the oven rack on the middle shelf for cinnamon buns but on the lowest shelf for sticky buns.
• Bake the cinnamon buns for 20 to 30 minutes or the sticky buns for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. If you are baking sticky buns, remember that they are really upside down (regular cinnamon buns are baked right side up), so the heat has to penetrate through the pan and into the glaze to caramelize it. The tops will become the bottoms, so they may appear dark and done, but the real key is whether the underside is fully baked. It takes practice to know just when to pull the buns out of the oven.
• For cinnamon buns, cool the buns in the pan for about 10 minutes and then streak white fondant glaze across the tops while the buns are warm but not too hot. Remove the buns from the pans and place them on a cooling rack. Wait at least 20 minutes before serving. For sticky buns, cool the buns in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then remove them by flipping them over onto another pan. Carefully scoop any run-off glaze back over the buns with a spatula. Wait at least 20 minutes before serving.
• Shaping cinnamon buns and sticky buns
• Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the top of the dough with flour to keep it from sticking to the pin. Roll it into a rectangle about 2/3 inch thick and 14 inches wide by 12 inches long for larger buns, or 18 inches wide by 9 inches long for smaller buns. Don't roll out the dough too thin, or the finished buns will be tough and chewy rather than soft and plump.
• Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the surface of the dough and roll the dough up into a cigar-shaped log, creating a cinnamon-sugar spiral as you roll.
• With the seam side down (see page 143), cut the dough into 8 to 12 even pieces each about 1 3/4 inches thick for larger buns; or 12 to 16 pieces each 1 1/4 inch thick for smaller buns.
• BREAD PROFILE
• Enriched, standard dough; direct method; commercial yeast
• DAYS TO MAKE: 1
• 15 minutes mixing; 3 1/2 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 20 to 40 minutes baking
• COMMENTARY
• This dough can be used for other applications besides cinnamon and sticky buns. For instance, you can make thumbprint sweet rolls, filled with jam or jelly. You can also make pastry logs. Roll out the dough as you would for cinnamon buns, but instead of cutting pinwheel slices and baking them face up, load the logs with nuts, raisins, and cinnamon sugar and bake them whole, like bâtards. Slice them after they've cooled so all the goodies inside come tumbling out onto your plate.
• GRACE NOTES: (White Fondant Glaze for Cinnamon Buns)
• Cinnamon buns are usually topped with a thick white glaze called fondant. There are many ways to make fondant glaze, but here is a delicious and simple version, enlivened by the addition of citrus flavor, either lemon or orange. You can also substitute vanilla extract or rum extract, or simply make the glaze without any flavorings.
• Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon or orange extract and between 6 tablespoons to 1/2 cup of warm milk, briskly whisking until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the milk slowly and only as much as is needed to make a thick, smooth paste.
• When the buns have cooled but are still warm, streak the glaze over them by dipping the tines of a fork or a whisk into the glaze and waving the fork or whiskover the tops. Or, form the streaks by dipping your fingers in the glaze and letting it drip off as you wave them over the tops of the buns. (Remember to wear latex gloves.)
• Caramel Glaze for Sticky Buns
• Caramel glaze is essentially some combination of sugar and fat, cooked until it caramelizes. The trick is catching it just when the sugar melts and lightly caramelizes to a golden amber. Then it will cool to a soft, creamy caramel. If you wait too long and the glaze turns dark brown, it will cool to a hard, crackyour-teeth consistency. Most sticky bun glazes contain other ingredients to influence flavor and texture, such as corn syrup to keep the sugar from crystallizing and flavor extracts or oils, such as vanilla or lemon. This version makes the best sticky bun glaze of any I've tried. It was developed by my wife, Susan, for Brother Juniper's Café in Forestville, California.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature.
• Cream together for 2 minutes on high speed with the paddle attachment. Add 1/2 cup corn syrup and 1 teaspoon lemon, orange, or vanilla extract. Continue to cream for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
• Use as much of this as you need to cover the bottom of the pan with a 1/4-inch layer. Refrigerate and save any excess for future use; it will keep for months in a sealed container.
• BAKER'S PERCENTAGE FORMULA
• Cinnamon Buns and Sticky Buns %
• Sugar: 20.3 %
• Salt: 1.6 %
• Shortening: 17.2 %
• Egg: 10.3 %
• Lemon extract: 1.1%
• Bread flour: 100 %
• Instant yeast: 1.4
• Milk (approx.) 59.4 %
• Total: 211.3 %